Heart massage unit



March 26, 1968 H. HURVITZ HEART MASSAGE UNIT Filed Dec. 23, 1965 INVENTOR HYMAN HURVITZ ATTOR KEYS United States Patent HEART MASSAGE UNIT Hyman Hurvitz, 1313 Juniper St. NW., Washington, D.C. 20012 Filed Dec. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 515,865 8 Claims. (Cl. 12851) The present invention relates generally to readily portable heart massage machines, and more particularly to portable heart massage devices which are simple in construction, light in weight, and adjustable in respect to depth of stroke, and which can be operated at will from air pressure, electrical power or manually.

It is known that pressure on the human breast bone, or sternum periodically at about 1 r.p.s. (reciprocation per second) with suflicient pressure to move the sternum inwardly about 1 per stroke, will often reactivate a heart which has ceased to beat. Devices for accompishing the required motions are known as heart massage devices. Heart massage devices are known which operate from pneumatic motors. However, no simple, portable heart massage device is commercially available which can operate from an electric motor, because the rotary motion of the shaft of an electric motor must be converted to rectilinear motion, which must be applied to the breast bone, at about 150 lbs. For this purpose, the prior art employs heavy linkages and standards. Nevertheless, pneumatic heart massage units are undesirable because they require a tank of gas under pressure, and if the tank of gas is of portable size it becomes exhausted in about ten minutes. It may be necessary to apply massage for an hour or more. Electricity is readily available in ambulances and in hospitals, for any desired length of time and therefore is the preferablesource of power.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simplified heart massage unit operated from an electrical motor, but which is simple of construction and of light weight, and readily portable.

However, there are situations wherein gas operated units are desirable, i.e. where electricity is not available, but a small oxygen bottle is available. An example of such a situation is, during carrying of a patient on a stretcher to an ambulance, or from the ambulance to a receiving room, or along the corridor of a hospital. Further, heart massage devices should have facility for hand operation, as an emergency measure, if no power source is available.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a heart massage device operable from gas pressure or electrically or by hand, at will, without requiring interchange of parts of any complicated manipulation.

It is another object of the invention to provide a simple manually operable heart massage device.

The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of one specific embodiment thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a heart massage device according to the invention, as applied to a patient;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the system of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the system of FIGURE 2.

In the drawings is a thin plate of light weight material, as aluminum, having a length of about 2' and a width of about 2'. Adjacent one edge of the plate is secured a standard 11, to which is secured one end of a length of belt 12. The belt passes freely through a'slot -13 in a cylindrical pressure applicator 14, applied at one end to the breast bone of a patient 15. The belt proceeds at its other end to a ring 16, which extends from an eccentric 17. The latter is secured to the shaft 18 of an electric motor 19, in turn bolted to plate 10. The eccentric has a circumferential groove 20 so that the ring 16 will remain engaged as the eccentric rotates. The length of belt 12 is adjustable ineffective length to accommodate patients of various sizes, by an automobile safety belt buckle 21. The present system requires a minimum number of parts yet is fully adjustable as to stroke, and can be used for any size of patient. As to stroke, this must be infinitely adjustable, which is accomplished in terms of tightness of belt, which can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the belt 12 by means of the belt buckle 21.

It is required to be able to position the applicator 14 precisely over the breast bone, regardless of the dimensions of the patient. To accomplish this end, the belt rides freely through slot -13 in the applicator 14. The belt is initially adjustable in tension, by means of buckle 21, of the type commonly employed in automobile safety belts. The tension of the belt determines the total movement of the piston against the breast bone. This must be infinitely adjustable because size of patient varies. The patient may be a child, or may be a three hundred pound man, and different strokes are essential for each. Since too great a stroke may rupture the heart, it is required to commence with a fairly loose belt, and, feeling the pulse at the carotid artery, the belt is gradually tightened only until pulse beats are felt as the massage device operates.

The pressure applicator 14 includes a resilient pad 25 directly overlaying the patient 15. Pad 25 is secured to the bottom of a piston rod 26, which can be driven down and up at a 1 r.p.s. rate by a pneumatic motor 27, which operates from an oxygen bottle 28 A lever 29 is pivoted at its lower end on plate 10 and carries a roller 30 underlying belt 11, and so located that movements of lever 29, back and forth, tightens the belt 12 for each movement, forward or back, to effect movement of applicator 26 down and up by 1". Rollers 30 of different diameters may be interchangeable to accommodate patients of different weights and proportions.

In operation, absent all power, the device can be applied to a patient 10, and the belt 12 tightened. The lever 29 can then be worked back and forth at 2 seconds per complete stroke back and forth to apply heart massage. The lever 29 may be moved between the limiting positions illustrated in FIGURE 2, in which case one stroke, back and forth, per second is required. However, lever 29 can be caused to overshoot its dotted position, in which case tightening of belt 12 occurs once for each movement toward buckle 21 and once for each opposite movement, and stroking need only occur once in each two seconds. This reduces the strain on the operator.

If air power is available, but not electrical power, the pad 25 may be driven up and down by pneumatic motor 14. If no air power is available but electrical power is available, or normally whenever electrical power is available, motor 19 is caused to rotate, whereupon eccentric 17 pulls on belt 12, and releases same at 1 r.p.s., pneumatic motor 14 then constituting an inactive applicator for pad 25.

When the unit is manually operated, the motor 19 forms an anchor for one end of belt 12. When the electric motor 19 operates, standard 11 acts as the anchor. When pneumatic motor 14 is operating both ends of the belt are fixed, by motor 19 and standard 11.

It is feasible, then, to omit the electric motor, so that only hand and pneumatic operation are available. Or, a passive applicator (not shown) may be substituted for pneumatic motor driven applicator 14, so that only electrical and manual operation are possible. Or, both electrical and pneumatic power can be omitted to provide a wholly manually operated device. In the latter case, the unit is unique in that each stroke of lever 20, both back- 'ward and forward, produces one stroke of applicator 14. Roller 30 is a hollow cylinder which rolls freely on a pin 31, to reduce friction, and is readily replaceable in terms of diameter.

It is also noted that the lever 29 provides a very convenient device for adjusting pressure, when the applicator 14 is driven either pneumatically or electrically, since pressure can be changed over a wide range in a fraction of a second. The machine may then operate while lever 29 is pulled and the carotid artery sensed, until pulse is felt, if on any stroke pulse is lost an immediate slight change of pressure prior to or even during the next stroke can be accomplished and pressure thus slowly increased stroke by stroke unitl pulse is sensed.

While I have described and illustrated one specific embodiment of my invention, it will be clear that variation of the details of construction which are specifically illustrated and described may be resorted to without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A heart massage unit, comprising a plate underlying a patient,

a length of belt extending over the patient at the location of the sternum of the patient,

means securing said length of belt at both its ends to said plate,

a pressure applicator secured to said length of belt and extending from said belt into contact with said sternum,

said means comprising means for periodically tightening and releasing said belt at a rate of about 1 (reciprocation per second) and to an extent such that said applicator moves inwardly toward said sternum and is released at said rate for a distance of about 1",

said last means being located at least adjacent one end of said length of belt.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said applicator is an oscillatory pneumatic motor having a piston of periodic stroke of about 1" and a rate of oscillation of about 1 r.p.s.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said last means includes'an electric motor, an eccentric rotated by said electric motor, and means responsive to rotation of said eccentric for periodically tightening and releasing said belt.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said last means is a manually operated means.

5. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said last means is a lever having apivot at one end of said plate and carrying a roller underlying said length of belt at a location such that each motion of said lever about said pivot in alternate directions produces a tightening and a release of said belt.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said applicator is an oscillatory pneumatic motor having a piston of periodic stroke of about 1" and a rate of oscillation of about 1 (reciprocation per second), said last means including an electric motor, an eccentric rotated by said electric motor and means responsive to rotation of said eccentric for periodically tightening and releasing I said belt.

7. The combination according to claim 6, wherein is further provided a manually operated device for periodically lengthening and tightening said belt.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said manually operated device is a lever having a pivot at one end at said plate and carrying a roller underlying said length of belt at a location such that each motion of said lever about said pivot in alternate directions produces a tightening and a release of said belt.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,953,424 4/ 1934 Miller 12863 3,219,031 11/1965 Rentsch l2851 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,331,573 5/1963 France. I 774,142 5/1957 Great Britain.

LAWRENCE W. TRAPP, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HEART MASSAGE UNIT, COMPRISING A PLATE UNDERLYING A PATIENT, A LENGTH OF BELT EXTENDING OVER THE PATIENT AT THE LOCATION OF THE STERNUM OF THE PATIENT, MEANS SECURING SAID LENGTH OF BELT AT BOTH ITS ENDS TO SAID PLATE, A PRESSURE APPLICATOR SECURED TO SAID LENGTH OF BELT AND EXTENDING FROM SAID BELT INTO CONTACT WITH SAID STERNUM, SAID MEANS COMPRISING MEANS FOR PERIODICALLY TIGHTENING AND RELEASING SAID BELT AT A RATE OF ABOUT 1 (RECIPRROCATION PER SECOND) AND TO AN EXTENT SUCH THAT SAID APPLICATOR MOVES INWARDLY TOWARD SAID STERNUM AND IS RELEASED AT SAID RATE FOR A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 1", SAID LAST MEANS BEING LOCATED AT LEAST ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID LENGTH OF BELT. 